Category: eating

Exclusive behind the scenes interview with David Wolfe from the 2013 Longevity Now Conference! I drugged him with beef and made him answer questions… just kidding. These are a couple of scenes to give you a taster!

Vegans, Paleos, Vegetarians, Flexitarians… what rEATligion are you and who cares/does it matter? I’ve loved spending this weekend learning from a predominantly ‘Flexitarian’ and Vegan bunch and I’ve learned SO much.

(Interesting that at the Longevity Conference, when Tony Horton (P90X guy) asked the audience “Any Paleos here?” Guess how many people, from 2000, raised their hand? Just 1… )

Anyway, David Wolfe video interview for you:

David Wolfe is one of the supper forces in the vegan and superfood community around the World. It was greta fun meeting this man and spending some time with him back stage at the Longevity Now Conference in Anaheim California.

David Wolfe is perhaps one of the most well travelled and well versed people in the World on super foods and alternative health lifestyles. He continues to bring important topics to light, making us aware and conscious of certain bad eating / lifestyle habits and offers alternative ideas.

The longevity Now conference in my opinion is the honey pot of amazing, relevant and up to date information on alternative foods, super foods, alternative medicine and a great place to explore this World of alternative healing and medicine.

Whatever your opinion / way of eating is pretty sure we can all agree on this kind of thing needing exposure:

Vegan and Paleo can surely agree on this…

The Video to Anna’s Talk: http://www.upworthy.com/watch-the-video-that-coca-cola-and-mcdonalds-hope-you-never-see?c=tkp1

Who cares about tea? If you’re into health, living a high quality healthy life and already drinking tea (and even if you’re not) then you are going to love this! Tea is especially good for those training at high intensity because of… well because of a million different reasons (some of which I have listed after this video)

The more tea masters I meet, the more learning I do. Tea is the teacher. It’s much more than just an energy kick. Without getting too hippie (which I’m told I am becoming) tea can really enhance a persons’ life. Without a doubt tea, specifically living tea, is the single most significant thing I have discovered in the most recent 6 months, you might like to get involved…?

In this short clip John at Tea Smith London explains a secret way of saying ‘cheers’ or showing respect when drinking tea. (Remember hit that like button if you like this because I’m not selling or pushing drugs on you, the ‘like’ or ‘share’ is all that is required.)

Tea, as legend has it

The finger tapping described in this video is from a legendary tale of an Emperor who was inspired to learn from a tea house who were delivering a particularly high standard of tea service. And, as you can imagine, it’s not really customary for the Emperor to serve tea. Insistent on getting stuck in, he started working there, and as a way for ‘his people’ to show respect without blowing his cover, instead of bowing they would bow with their fingers.

(On a side tangent, in East Asia, bowing is a fairly complex and brilliant thing – with the depth and angle of the bow determining the amount of respect shown – now you know)

Different teas offer different feelings / health benefits…

Antioxidants, stress relief, deeper sleep, better digestion through probiotics, stimulants (with a much more gradual ‘come-down’), meeting people, making friends (‘make friends through tea’ is a known saying in the tea world – it’s true.), less anxiety, self actualization (thought I’d throw that one in there for dramatic effect…).

This post is about Paleo eating and making a change (if you want to) though firstly; Some people give the Men’s Health ‘Eat this, Not that’ site a fair bit of stick for lacking in scientific evidence, even slating Men’s Health for making assumptions that are ludicrous. And they’re right because a fair few things they say are pretty far fetched… (specifically they recently made a bit of a mess of the calorie / fat storing ‘thing’ by ignoring the effect of hormones).

The more people that become aware that hormones (specifically insulin and cortisol) as well as calories (and a whole load of other stuff) play a BIG role in this health, diabetes, fat burning, obesity, overweight thing the better… There is slightly more to it than the calorie model. And that’s without even looking at Glucagon (the opposite of insulin), Ghrelin (hour to hour hunger) or Leptin (day to day hunger).

THAT SAID…

I’m all for people making change for the better. And, as much as I’d like to click my fingers and for everyone to be healthy, eating nourishing food, get rid of starvation through highly nutritious food and eradicate obesity through similar methods – sometimes swopping an evil product for a lesser evil is a great start to creating bigger changes. And that is what ‘Eat this, Not that’ appears to be about.

It’s more that I eat ALOT of veg, leaves, meat, fish, nuts, seeds and DARK organic (very often raw) chocolate (I sometimes even step in the realm of less dark organic chocolate – though that is a REAL treat…and tastes phenomenal having abstained for months). Being completely wheat, legume and dairy free and very much on the ‘Paleo’ path works for me and I’d recommend you experiment by checking out the following tips:

Here are some basic Paleo tips evolving ‘Eat this, Not that’ to a the next level:

Because wheat, gluten and legumes all have anti-nutrient properties and they are nutritionally inferior to root and cruciferous veg and dark leaves.

Q: But they eat rice and breans in countries and tribes all over the world and they are fine…?

A: Yes they do. Rice and beans are a survival food. Which is great for… wait for it – surviving. We are into thriving, right? Check this next part for something interesting;

Remember (Abraham) Maslow’s heirachy of needs?

Have a GOOD look at this while thinking about how you spend your time, who is around you, how much intimacy you have in your sex life, and of course the things you are eating:

I’m interested in people (you & me) thriving – achieving self actualization. If you are reading this you are in a fortunate position to have a real choice of which foods you put in your mouth. That is once you get a grasp of your cravings and ‘reset’ your body. For most of us our bodies are MUCH better at digesting; meat (real meat that is grass fed, free range, farmers market), wild fish, veg, fruit, nuts and seeds.

Yes, some peoples’ bodies are much better at digesting certain foods and yes people have their beliefs about killing animals – which I respect. Though speaking strictly about the way we are made as animals ourselves the above list works!

(Yes the living conditions of the animal matters, yes aim for farmers markets you trust for getting the freshest and best fruit & veg, yes aim for organic nuts and seeds. That said use a little common sense, if farmers market/organic is not available the next best thing is NOT processed packaged junk. The next best things IS conventional versions of the above.

2) Replace milk chocolate with soy-free dark chocolate.

(ok, they didn’t have dark chocolate in the ‘Paleo times’ but it’s a great shift in the right direction knowing a lot of people eat and enjoy chocolate – might as well get the best nourishment from the experience!)

(Do this) Because… the higher percentage the chocolate the more nutrients and the less sugar you get. And Cacao (yes, that’s the plant that your chocolate bar used to be). Aim for 70% + then aim for 80% or more… Cacao is a great source of magnesium, a mineral that is lacking in most people living in western ‘civilization’.

Top Tip: when moving to darker chocolate the first few times you try it, it WILL taste harsh! Your taste buds need (yes, I’m telling you…) retraining. Check out this post for more about retraining your tastebuds.

In England 85% Green & Blacks is soy lecithin free.

Montezumas also have some soy-free chocolate, aim their higher percentages and read the label.

Cows are designed to eat grass. When a cow eats grain it is subjected to the same ‘torture’ and illnesses we are – sad and true. A free range, grass fed cow (which means it is let loose to eat grass in the summer and most of the winter unless it is too cold then it comes inside for organic grain feeding – a few days per year) will live a happier, healthier life meaning it’s meat is much more nutritious (higher omega 3’s to 6’s).

4) Smells Fishy! Choose wild over farmed!

Farmed fish are… wait for it – farmed!! Wild fish are…. Wild! Which means wild fish theoretically live a happier life eating the food they are designed to eat (we are what our food has eaten). When a fish lives and eats how it is meant to it gives us humans all the nutrients and fats it is supposed to give us. (better omega 3 to 6 ratio being a key one – again!)

Other thoughts:

*Remember we are what our food has eaten.
*Organic chickens – they’re probably not what you think they are.
*Yes eat the whole yolk – cholesterol in food does not equal cholesterol in your body.

Thank you 2012, you were beautiful. Bring on 2013 for more and increased awesomeness.

You’ve probably already thought of a millions things to focus on, develop, enhance or change in 2013. Well, here are 12 tips. The first one is going to help you stick to your new year’s resolution, the other 11 are inspiring ideas to enhance your training and eating experience.

1) New Years resolution.

Making a Change? So it turns out that making a declaration on it’s own doesn’t actually work. The plans you make for the change is the key. What plans do you need to make? According to the awesome Jade Teta from Metabolic Effect these are the 5 key things:

1. Understand how your brain works. Humans are not very good multitasks. The more you do, the more confused you become and in this confused state you default back to old behavior. One thing at a time is key.

2. Bringing in bit of Jim Rohn, the Brain needs a strong why? Why change? Why spend more time with your family? Why earn more money? Why travel more? Why is the energy, the fuel behind the change. write down why you are doing it.

3. What are you going to do? If you want to gain some muscle and lose some fat, what are you going to do? Hire a Personal trainer? Join a bootcamp? Re-start a sport you used to love but got too busy to play? Martial arts (fitness, fat loss and learning a form of defense and increased confidence). What are you going to do?

4. When are you going to do it? When do you start? Now is always a good time. But really, when is now a good time? 1st January? Set a date and commit to it. And, more specifically, when are you going to go (continual)

5. How is it going to happen?

This is about obstacles. Predicting then clearing and overcoming obstacles. Let’s take training as the example, because it’s very relevant. By training session number 3 you might be aching and need to slightly alter your workout. Know that you are going to be aching and that you can find something to train that doesn’t ache. (if the pain is severe see your trainer then your doctor if necessary).

Plan in your diary, like an appointment when you are going to train and keep that appointment with yourself. Pack your training gear the night before and put it by your keys. Buy extra training gear and leave it in the office or in your car so you always have it. And remember the first few minutes of training often the toughest.

2) Do what you love.

Whatever your goal there is a way to burn fat, gain fat, gain muscle, increase your VO2 max, tighten your abs, increase your ‘booty’ size, trim your waist… that you will enjoy. If you currently do not enjoy your training then look beyond your gym, even if it is a different gym.

3) You are so sweet (and it’s making me fat).

Refined sugar and sugar in it’s altered states is an ingredient that will not help you loose fat. And, it will not give you long term stable energy levels. Become aware of your refined sugar intake.

4) Understand the label.

If you don’t understand the words on the label do not put it in your mouth… (Seek first to understand). Would you blindly pick one of the petrol (gas) pumps and start filling your car? Ha! Probably not unless you were loco. Would you grab any cologne/perfume from the shop and buy and use it without knowing the smell? Probably not! (ingredients on body products I’m saving for another time… oh yes there is a world of wildness we daily rub into your body too). Pick up, sign a contract for and use a random phone or computer you’ve not actually looked into – Probably not!

Grab something that looks like food/liquid, something that we are told is food and eat it? Most people do this every day! Wild, wild times!

3b) Where does the key ingredient sit in the ingredients list? If it is chocolate for example you should be looking for ‘Cacao’ to be as high up in the list as possible and for there to be as few other ingredients as possible.

5) Ignore those voices.

(for now, I don’t mean the ones in your head) I mean the voices of those people around that project their own ‘situation’ on to your life. They don’t know you. I don’t know you. You know you (for the most part). Find out the reality of your situation and your own goals for health and fitness and find out how to do it. ‘”e become the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with” – Jim Rohn. Learn to selectively ignore opinions and people. And, likewise, learn to surround yourself with the people who are best for your life actualization.

6) Get tested.

Yes that kind of tested and… If you think you might be overweight and eating too much sugar, go and get your blood tested for diabetes. It’s OK, just go an do it and then take the next step from there.

7) Go Caveman.

Relatively speaking grains, wheat, gluten & legumes were only recently introduced into our diets. And it turns out they are not conducive to a creating healthy human being. There are proteins in those food that wreak havoc on our digestive system. Take a month off and see how you feel. (Thanks Robb Wolf and Dr. Loren Cordain)

8) Fart lots?

Maybe it’s time to test your tolerance to lactose. Take 21 days off and see how your digestion, farting and energy levels change… when you take it out of your diet remember you will need to replace it with something like lots of green veg (for calcium) and eggs for breakfast (yes the whole egg). Don’t fart much? It’s a great test to do anyway to see how and if your energy levels increase. Especially if you are reading this from the USA, your milk and dairy products are perhaps the most processed and highest in sugar the world has ever seen.

9) Added sugar? Put it back!

Really. Ingredients with the letters ‘ose’ at the end are a type sugar (dextrose, lactose, fructose, sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, amongst others). This means that they will release energy very quickly and, generally speaking, if not used through training or in other ways they will be stored as fat. The other issues are that the sugars are often man-made and hence even more detrimental to our health. Our mental and physical health can take a serious battering when we eat those sugars listed above. (Artificial sweeteners are not the answer either! It’s a given that we avoid them). If you have a sweet tooth go for something like raw organic honey which actually has some nutrients, though is still not advisable as part of a fat loss program.

10) Life – for best results live without gluten.

Challenge yourself? Try it for a month and tell me how you feel… then continue…

11) A long list?

How long is the ingredient list? In a packet and contains more than 5 or 6 ingredients? Then it is probably not worth eating.

12) Taste it.

Some of us drink it every day without any respect for the actual taste, merely focusing on the fact that it wakes your face up and make getting on with the day tolerable. The taste of your tea or coffee is DIRECTLY influenced by the quality of the water used. That means if you’re in London or LA and getting tea or coffee from a high street chain store you are probably getting a low quality water high in fluoride and other chemicals. When I steep tea I always use bottled or filtered water. It makes a huge difference.

12b) Different temperatures for different teas.

Different teas need different steeping temperatures and times. Fact. Imagine taking a pice of bread (not that we would right!?) and putting it in a toaster on full power, then when it pops we put it in again, and again and again. How do you think it is going to taste? Pretty bad. Same thing with tea. Green teas for example need a water temperature from between 50C and 90C (celsius). so when your high street chain cafe bar tortures your tea back in boiling water you are effectively getting ‘burnt toast’.

Thank you 2012, you were beautiful. Bring on 2013 for more and increased awesomeness.

There are 3 parts to this post: 1) The ‘if you are in a rush’ version. 2) The detailed version with plenty of… reasons… 3) And, the answers to those voices in your head.

If you are in too much of a rush to read it all:

1) Breakfast = Protein, good fat and veg/salad. Do it.
2) Girls, lift weights because it will help you burn fat and get lean. Do it.
3) The right juice (when you blend it with whole veg/leaves for fibre) can enhance your life. Do it.
4) Love the training you do so you stick at it.
5) Drink tea. The right tea (no milk no sugar, no soy)
6) Train & Eat at the right time for your body
7) Have massages. Regularly. Your body and mind need them.

The Detailed Version:

Tip 1 is Breakfast / Desayuno

Breakfast!!!!! It is THIS important!
You might hear a little voice that says: “but, I can’t eat much in the morning… but I like granola / muesli… but I don’t have time to cook in the morning…”
(answers to all of these voices are at the bottom of this post, funnily enough in the ‘answers’ section)

Breakfast Provoked Life lesson – if you want anything badly enough you will find a way to make it happen. That goes for money, goals, feeling good and fat burning – You will make it happen if you want it badly enough.

BONUS BENEFIT (for everyone!)
When you eat a protein, good fat, veg/salad breakfast you will find that your mood stays more stable. Less and less spikes and crashes in energy, more and more rational thoughts and good feelings. It’s true it works do it. I was a MOODY teenager because I was overweight and eating TOO MUCH SUGAR (sugar from lactose from milk & dairy, from wheat, dried fruit and plenty of refined sugars). Are you moody? Do you get mood swings and are you ‘short’ with people? Sort your breakfast out now to help you burn fat and stay stable. Getting a decent hit of protein in your breakfast releases dopamine in your brain too. Dopamine is the same chemical that is released when you feel love (and strangely enough take hard drugs) to make you feel good. Winner!

STOP READING! Right, let’s get real. Seriously, stop everything. Forget about the rest of this post, your breakfast is where you start. If your breakfast is perfect and your mood stable then AWESOME job! If not, write down, or better still DO the thing that’s going to change your breakfast. Cook some chicken breasts right now for tomorrow, buy some cans of tuna and salad. Get some organic raw Almonds. I want you to do this for me and your friends so I we don’t have to tolerate your mood swings, and because I want you to enjoy awesome energy levels and feel great!

Tip 2 is for Girls

OH NO! I’m a girl and I’m scared of getting bulky like a man!!
You wont get bulky unless you want to get bulky. Do you know how much work and effort it takes to get genuine, strong lean muscle? Even if someone is smashing growth hormone or steroids it would still take a very awesome training program with an even more awesome eating regime to add lean muscle mass.

If you want a tight bum, sleek obliques and firm bingo wings (the back of your arm) then start lifting. Get a high quality, highly motivated and exciting personal trainer (or one that works well with your personality) and learn how to squat and train properly it will enhance your life. Ditch your trainer after 10 sessions if you have the motivation to keep learning and training independently. Like anything you want to do properly the more you learn the more there is to learn / and practice. Remember, not all trainers were created equally. Really. One will waste your time and take your money the other will transform your physical and emotional life (through feeling great!) which in turn will help you earn more money (if you want to).

Tip 3 is Add the fibre

JUICE can be good & it can be kind of ‘BAD’
If it’s the right juice and is part of a HIGH protein diet then it can be (kind of) part of your fat burning breakfast if you love it. Having spent 24 hours with Richie Watson, an awesome guy who healed himself of ME through raw food and juicing, and a lot of time with Jeff DePeron Hollywood personal trainer to the stars, I’ve come to realise that the high density of nutrients in a juice is like a potent and natural medicine. The KEY thing is part juicing, part blending. Juice a load of leaves and veg, stick 1/2 an apple or some pineapple in there for sweetness then blend it with a big hit of leaves and whole veg (fibre slows the release of sugar into your blood). If you struggle with burning fat or are overweight then drinking juice (a lot of natural sugar) breakfast is the not a great idea and could hinder your fat burning potential to begin. (If you’re going to juice or already juicing read this next part with eyes wide open!)

HOWEVER, (which is just a fancy butt), with that said, juicing is AWESOME and it can have a prominent place in your diet because of the high concentration of nutrients and vitamins that are found in juice. When I or the ‘foodies’ speak about juicing they’re talking about organic fresh veg that you juice yourself. Not the stuff available in your local supermarket in a bottle/box – it’s different. Much of that stuff is pasturized which kills many of the nutrients, and it could have been sitting there for weeks which means eve less nutrients.

When you get a huge hit of nutrients (vitamins, minerals and antioxidants) they literally go to work on fixing your body.

For arguments sake if you didn’t see the juice in it’s form as a vegetable/fruit then avoid it. See tip 6 for more on this.

Tip 4 is Love

LOVE IT. If you don’t you wont (stick at it).
I’ve said it before I will say it many many times again. If you are repulsed by the idea of going to the gym and training then find something else (martial arts, dancing, sprinting, a sport, swimming) something, anything. You can enjoy and feel good about the way you get and stay healthy.

Tip 5 is Tea

DRINK TEA!
This is one thing that we can literally copy from the Japanese. (Not the soy thing. That’s FAR to complicated and dangerous. Find out more here)

Why drink tea?
– The stimulant effect in tea is much more balanced (because of the theanine) and gradual (both coming up and coming down). AWESOME video on the potent Matcha Tea here.
– Tea is FULL of goodness – wether it helps digestion (Pu’er), has antioxidants (high in Matcha & greens) or gives you energy.

PS. Organic coffee can work well for some people. Others (like me) it will make anxious and irritable. Find out if your coffee is screwing up your life. Take 2 weeks off Coffee / all stimulants and see how you feel.

(when you try a few weeks without coffee, ‘builders tea’ or other artificially caffeinated beverages you should expect some headaches and funny withdrawal feelings)

If you want to learn about tea, I mean REALLY learn the good stuff then get to The Tea Smith in Spitalfields Market, London and get involved with one of John’s Tea Master classes. Before I interviewed him (see first clip here) I thought I was a smart arse knowing that teas need different steeping temperatures. Turns out that I knew NOTHING before that interview. (Great job John! Thank you).

Tip 6 is ‘Fat-burning O’clock’

Train & Eat at ‘FAT-BURNING OCLOCK’

This is a blurry one. The key turning point for me and for my clients is when they ‘tune in’ to their body. I’m going to suggest that you need to get in tune with your body as soon as possible and find out (feel) when your body is most receptive to burning fat. If I have a photo shoot or want to lean up for whatever reason I will do high intensity interval training in the morning before breakfast, drinking just a little green tea pre-workout.

BONUS BENEFIT: When you’re in tune with your body and how it works life seems to flow much more easily. That oh so hippy saying ‘mind body connection’ is very real and the sooner you figure out how to connect your mind and body the better your life is going to be.

Tip 7 is Massages

GET MASSAGES.

For 2 reasons:
a) Your body needs to be worked on, mental and physical stresses (walking, training, talking and of course listening) take their toll on your body. You need to have massages as often as your budget allows (or trade swop like me – train someone in exchange for a massage)

b) When was the last time you had someones hands on your body? Here comes the hippy talk – we need human connection, physical and mental. It nourishes us. Even if it is a paid masseuse (steady…) There is this thing called ‘failure to thrive’ when a baby is not given human contact and affection in the first few weeks of it’s life. A similar thing happens to us as adults. We need connection.

Tip 7b is HIIT (of course)

Conclusion:

All of the tips above are awesome. They work. Remember they are an a scale where some people will get better results from certain methods depending on how much training you have already done and how healthy/damaged your body is (from the inside out).

The best advice anyone can give you about coming super healthy is to always be learning and asking questions and make sure the thing you are going to try wont kill you, then experiment with it!

If you’re in London (England), Melbourne (Aus), LA or Colombia (Medellin & Bogota) there are people I will happily recommend to you for training and massages. Send me a message Rich(AT)RichEats.TV about that.

1) Butt, I cant eat in the morning before work… Well, for 99% of people (you’re probably not the 1%) who are looking to burn fat you’re going to have to. There is this awesome concept I learned through ME (Metabolic Effect) called ‘Pre-emptive Eating’. In short you eat the RIGHT breakfast foods (organic, lean protein + nuts and veg/salad) even if you don’t want to BECAUSE you will make better food choices later, trigger the right hormones creating a healthy metabolism and help build muscle (which you want because while we are burning all of this fat we are going to have to put something back in there to fill out all that skin and bone!)

2)Butt, I don’t have time in the morning…
The answer is in your question: Do it the night before. Easy. Boil 6 eggs on Monday and eat 2 per day for 3 days. Cook 4 chicken breasts in the oven (you can do something else while they cook! oh yes!) and eat 1 per day for 4 days. Same goes for fish!

3)Butt, I like granola / muesli…
Granola & muesli (and oatmeal/porridge) all process in the body in a very similar way to sugar. They provoke similar fat storing hormones. When you eat sugar, unless it is burned off through vigorous exercise it is stored as fat (and has a (detrimental) party with your organs and mental stability. Seriously.

And! that’s aside from the very important point that Robb Wolf and Loren Cordain make, which is that oats, grains (amongst other commons foods) cause HUGE problems for our digestive system (and thus our body and mind)

Cacao Beans, Goji Berries, Almond Butter and dates… This is a nutrient dense dessert or snack! It tastes phenomenal (all together) and can be fun if you get your guests to eat it blindfolded and with their hands!

Training in the gym, lifting weights, hill sprints and squats (etc) are all awesome for developing your body in different ways though you know the key thing to achieving the physique and peace of mind you want? It is to LOVE what you’re doing. That way it will be sustainable. There are a million ways to develop your body and train your mind. Find the ways you love and enjoy them…

Those of you out there loving what you’re doing – that’s awesome! If you’re not sure if you like the gym or go because you think you have to – maybe try something different?

Seaweed is something that makes so much sense for so many reasons. High in Calcium, high in protein (per gram), all of the good minerals you’d find in sea salt (without the sodium). It’s also high in Iodine which is critical for the function of your thyroid gland…

(This is Jeff DePeron’s website we are in the middle of writing a book together. It’s more about inspiration, self-deprecating humor, effective tips and lifestyle enhancements rather than a ‘eat this for 5 days and you will be 15 times as fast’. We do love those kind of books too…)